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Founding of House Blackmoore
The House of Blackmoore was founded out of the House of Morentelli though few are alive to tell the tale of how such a thing happened. The Truth Many believe that an unwanted son of the House of the Rose, eager to make a name and fortune for himself, set out to follow the Moren River north to find fertile lands to found his own apothecary plantation. Finding the swampy, marshland of Mist Reed Valley, he claimed it as his own. Since there were no other claimants at the time (few would have seen any potential profit in such a venture), his father gave him leave to 'pursue such interests as might befit his station'. The unwanted son, Gyles Blackmane who would become founder of the House, set up the Moren with three River Barges and anchored them on the north side of the valley where the land was firm and solid. He found that the richest and most fertile soil was out in the marsh but he had no real way of utilizing it unless he could keep it from flooding. It is said that he first tried to dig up the fertile soil and move it onto the parts of the valley which did not flood but it took too much work to haul the earth. He even tried filling a barge with the black, swampy earth and tried to plant herbs within it but that was only marginally successfull. It wasn't until he came across a small clan of Hanabril within the samp that he discovered how to capitalize upon the resource. The Blackfoot Clan were few in number and lived in artificially-created 'islands' of firm ground they had created within the swamp. The islands were called Crannogs by the halflings and after some trading of iron spear points and arrowheads and negotiation, they showed Gyles how it they were created. That is at least one version of the tale of the origin of House Blackmoore, the truth, however, is far more interesting. An Alternate Truth Gyles Blackmane was not a son of the House of Morentelli though he did marry into it, after kidnapping one of their daughters and forcing a wedding to the family at knife point. He was the first in a long line of warlords which emerged from the swampy region within the Mist Reed valley which eventually became known as 'Blackmoore' or 'Black Swamp'. Gyles Blackmane was a bastard son of one of the Black Baronies who, having found no option for advancement within his sire's House, traveled south in search of opportunities. The bastard was captain of a River Cog known as The Drake. He and his crew were known to do a bit of piracy upon the March Sea and within the Sentinel Sea as the opportunity presented itself. Upon one such occasion as they had taken a ship, they discovered that the contents were owned by the House of Jorask of Kel Essen. The Sea Kings did not suffer pirates lightly and sent a floatilla of three ships to find and sink the Drake. Desperate to find a sheltering cove or friendly harbor while in the Sentinel Sea but unable to make the opening to the March Sea without exposing their position to the forces of the House of Jorask, captain Blackmane turned his ship into Blackbill Bayou, a dangerous and nearly perpetually foggy inlet north Kel Essen. The plan, it is presumed, was to sail into the bayou, anchor the ship and let the larger ships (who could not venture into the shallow waters of the bayou) pass by. While within the bayou, captain Blackmane decided to travel inland to explore the area in hopes of potentially finding a more reliable hiding place should the need arise again. Eventually finding his way up the Reed River to the Mist Reed Valley, Captain Blackmane discovered a swampy region with a dozen watery paths that would easily confuse any ship fool enough that tried to follow him into such morass. He found the largest 'clear' area of relatively open water within the swamp at the head of the river and picked that spot as a future base. Over the next two years, the Drake and her crew fell upon a number of merchant ships on the Sentinel Sea and they exploited their knowledge of the region to hide should they ever be followed. Greystone Keep Category:Event/Blackmoore Category:Event/573 KR Category:Event/570-579 KR Category:Event/South Marches